BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Blake Sanderson (1-0): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
LP | Devin Smeltzer (1-4): 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (19-18-1, 6-3 A-Sun) was unable to complete the comeback effort tonight as it would fall to No. 15 Florida Atlantic (29-8, 11-4 C-USA) by a score of 10-6. The Eagles led early but were unable to hold off the Owls who collected 15 hits and scored four runs over the final two frames to seal the deal. FGCU now turns its attention to reigning Atlantic Sun Champion Kennesaw State (19-17, 5-4 A-Sun). The team will travel to Kennesaw, Ga. this weekend for a three-game set with the Owls beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) made the start for the Green and Blue and pitched very well over the first four innings of action. He would tire in the fifth however and would ultimately finish with 4.1 innings to his credit with six runs, one walk and a four strikeouts, earning his fourth loss of 2015. A trio of relievers would finish out the night for the Eagles who would strike out nine Owls in total.

At the plate, Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) was the lone Eagle to collect multiple hits, going 2-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI, raising his average to .301. Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) picked up a pair of RBI's with a single in the third. Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) were the only other Eagles to get a hit. Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) and Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) combined to go 0-8. Noll's career-best 16-game hitting streak comes to an end. The Eagles are now 4-8-1 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the polls this season.

"The middle of our order just didn't hit very well tonight," head coach Dave Tollett said. "We were still in the ball game and we made two errors in the eighth and one in the ninth. We would have been in this game if we played defense but we weren't very good offensively either. Now we turn our attention to Kennesaw State. They have two really good arms so it will be a good challenge for us. Conference games are the most important at this time of the year so we need to be ready this weekend."

Smeltzer would see the first batter of the game lay down a bunt that rolled up the third base line. He would reach first easily but Pruett made the throw anyway and it sailed down the line in right allowing the runner to stroll into second with no outs. The next batter would send a fly ball to center that advanced the runner to third. Smeltzer would dig in and pick up a big strikeout for the second out before getting a ground ball to short to end the inning.

The Eagles would strand one runner in the bottom of the first. With one out in the top of the second Esteban Puerta singled through the left side of the infield bringing up Christian Dicks who hit a line drive home run over the wall in the right to push the Owls ahead 2-0. FGCU would strand a runner on second in each of the first two innings.

Reardon led off the bottom of the third by bouncing a ball to second but the FAU second baseman made a poor throw that pulled the first baseman off the bag allowing Reardon to reach safely. Selesky and Rivera both followed with walks to load the bases for Noll who worked a third-consecutive walk to drive in the first run of the game for FGCU. At that point the Eagles had put six runners on base and scored a run without recording a hit. The next pitch would be wild, bringing Selesky in from third to tie the game. Bottomley then laced a single of the middle to clear the bases and give FGCU a 4-2 lead. Through the first three frames the Eagles had put seven on base, scored four runs and recorded just one hit.

The Owls would get a leadoff single from CJ Chatham in the top of the fifth and he advanced to second a wild pitch in the dirt. With one out following a strikeout, Stephen Kerr singled through the hole between short and third and stole second, putting runners on second and third for Brett Lashley who walked to load the bases. Brendon Sanger followed with a single of his own, driving in two to tie the game at four and ending Smeltzer's day. An infield single off new FGCU pitcher Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) would re-load the bases for Roman Collins who roped another FAU hit to right, giving the Owls back the lead 5-4. FAU would tack on one more in the frame to take a 6-4 lead.

FAU would score four more runs over the eighth and ninth innings, with the help, primarily, of a few FGCU errors in the field, to build a 10-4 advantage heading into the home half of the ninth. Brian Pruett (Sarasota, Fla./Coastal Carolina) led off the bottom half with a walk. Anderson bounced a ball towards the hole in short and both runners would beat throws attempting to turn a double play, putting two on with no outs for Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) who skied out to right after working a 3-2 count. Reardon stayed hot with a single through the right side, scoring Pruett to make it 10-5. Selesky followed with a single of his own to drive in another run and leave two on for Rivera who popped up for the second out. Noll came to the plate with his 16-game hitting streak on the line and bounced to third for the final out of the game.

NEXT UP
The showdown with the 2014 Atlantic Sun Tournament Champions is set to take place on the road this year Apr. 17-19. The Eagles swept the first two games of the series at Swanson Stadium last year before losing a late lead in the third game that sent Kennesaw State on an unprecedented run. The Owls finished the season with a 32-25 record and ran to the No. 3 seed in the A-Sun Tournament with an 18-13 record in the league. They would advance to their first NCAA Tournament and move on to the NCAA Super Regional before falling to Louisville. KSU would finish the season with the No. 52 RPI in the nation.

ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Eagles will once again host the Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament at Swanson Stadium this season. The event is set to take place May 20-23 and the top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship and compete in a double-elimination style tournament to determine the A-Sun's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are four-time A-Sun Regular Season Champions with the most recent title coming in 2014.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 453-256-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 35 All-Conference selections, 22 draft picks, 14 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, three All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.

FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball, Instagram @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.